This maritime-terrestrial nature park has unique countryside, located between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It is marked by the area's harsh climatic conditions and the presence of various civilisations over the ages, and is home to highly adapted flora and fauna, fruit of the convergence of very different natural areas. This diversity reflects an important natural resource - the landscape - with cliffs and abrasion platforms on one side of Tarifa, and sandy beaches on the other. At the western edge of the park, from Camarinal Lighthouse there are beautiful views of the sea and the coast. Inland, meanwhile, from Silla del Papa, you can see the open countryside of La Janda and the mountains to the south of Cadiz.

Easterly and westerly winds play a fundamental role in the essence of this area: they have shaped the landscape, defined the migratory routes of birds and formed dunes. Man makes use of these winds for generating green energy and for sports such as surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing. Tarifa is internationally famous for windsurfing. The wind here also helped to limit urban expansion related to sun and sand tourism during the 1970s.

Visitors can enjoy beautiful beaches like Los Lances, which has the Natural Area protection designation, or Bolonia, which has a famous sand dune recognised as a Natural Monument.

For those interested in the marine environment, there are boat trips from Tarifa and Algeciras where you can see dolphins.

Cultural heritage is another of the park's attractions; there are numerous archaeological remains, including the outstanding Roman town of Baelo Claudia, a strategic location for the fish-salting industry in Baetica. Furthermore, the archaeological heritage of the Strait is not limited to the land. There is important underwater heritage, with a large number of wrecked ships.

General information

Fauna

It is definitely the birds that are the Park's main protagonists. The most common residents here are white storks, honey buzzards, black kites and Griffon vultures. You can also see imperial eagles, black-winged kites, Egyptian vultures, Bonelli's eagles and even some peregrine falcons.

This wealth of birdlife is enhanced by the passage of migratory birds, a spectacle that you can enjoy from the park's network of hides at different times of year.

In addition, the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar are home to important wildlife, and this area still produces new discoveries for the world of science. More than 1,900 species of marine flora and fauna have been registered here, with sea turtles, dolphins and porpoises being the most common large ones.

Flora

These sandy coastal areas are home to plants adapted to drought and wind, such as Marram grass, juniper and the typical Portuguese crowberry ("camarina" in Spanish) which gives its name to the local lighthouse. In the surrounding area there are stone pines which were re-planted in the 1960s to contain the dunes, along with ecologically valuable scrub plants.

Moving further into the mountains there are holm oaks, cork and wild olive trees, along with re-planted eucalyptus.

Special mention should be made of the rock samphire to be found on the cliffs, as well as daffodils and gorse that appear all over.

The waters of the Strait of Gibraltar are ideal for scuba diving and there are extensive meadows of algae, an indication of the environmental quality of the water. Laminaria algae are specially noteworthy for their spectacular size.

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